Players React to Acquisition of Robert Quinn
PHILADELPHIA – There’s a lot to like about Robert Quinn, and his new teammates inside the Eagles locker room wasted no time throwing bouquets his way.
"Man, I been watching that guy forever. ... he got it all,” said defensive lineman Milton Williams.
“He knows a lot. He's played a lot. As you see he's still playing at a high level right now. Watching his technique, speed, how he can bend around the edge, his flexibility. You got everything you need from a defensive end."
Quinn’s arrival can do nothing but help an Eagles team all in on a Super Bowl push that will pick up again Sunday after a bye week when the Pittsburgh Steelers visit.
“They (the Eagles front office) are adding more pieces to the puzzle, you're adding more tools to the toolbox and I'm excited for that,” said linebacker T.J. Edwards. “The defensive front is scary for sure. So definitely excited."
Quinn is one of just seven active players in the league with more than 100 sacks, tied with Aaron Donald with 102. Ahead of him are Von Miller (121.5), Cameron Jordan (111.5), Chandler Jones (108), Justin Houston (106), and J.J. Watt (104.5).
“You can’t have enough pass rushers,” said RT Lane Johnson. “You don’t know what that does for a team in general, creating turnovers. Adding him in to work with Josh (Sweat) on that side is going to be tremendous, create a lot of turnovers, give the offense more opportunities, a win-win for all of us.”
Johnson sort of spilled the beans there in that Quinn will likely play on Sweat’s side with Brandon Graham and Haason Reddick opposite them, though defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon may have other ideas as the integration process goes along.
As easy as it is to like the addition of Quinn and what he can mean to the Eagles’ hopes, it’s concerning that only one of his 102 sacks has come this year in seven games with the Bears.
It’s never easy to see the end for an athlete.
Ryan Kerrigan, for example, didn’t have anything left when he arrived as a free agent last year with 95.5 sacks in 10 years with Washington and is now retired after one season of not doing anything with the Eagles.
The move for Quinn feels different, and it has the endorsement of former Eagles DE Chris Long.
"Heard nothing but great things about him," said Graham. "C-Long already told me about how good (is). He works his butt off. It gives you a spark if you look at it that way.
"I feel like it’s somebody that can definitely help us. We did lose DB (Derek Barnett to an ACL tear in the season opener). We’ve been trying to fill that little void."
This feels a lot like the acquisition of Jay Ajayi at the trade deadline in 2017.
Ajayi’s knees weren’t very good, but he had enough left to help the Eagles win a Super Bowl that season.
Quinn is still 32, two years younger than Graham, but has been in the league since 2011.
During that time, he has played for only one winning team, and that was the 2017 Rams who went 11-5 and lost in the wildcard round of the playoffs. He sacked Carson Wentz that year before Wentz tore two ligaments in his knee, altering a career that looked ready to lift off into the stratosphere.
But that 18.5-sack season only last year is tantalizing, tantalizing enough to believe he has something left if used in the correct scheme, and Gannon’s scheme is similar to what he played at other stops in a journey that now has him on his fifth team.
“Robert’s a really, really good player,” said center Jason Kelce. “He’s been a double-digit sack guy for pretty much his whole career. I know this year, the numbers might not be there, but he’s a very tough matchup for a lot of tackles in the NFL.”
On-field production is only one way to look at this deal.
His presence alone may be worth the NFL minimum salary the Eagles are paying him after the Bears picked up $7.1 million of what was left of his contract if younger players such as Williams and even Haason Reddick can pick his brain on the nuances of rushing a quarterback.
“You can learn a lot,” said Reddick, who has 35.5 sacks after five seasons and six games compared to Quinn, who had 52 sacks in the same span of time.
“I’m not looking to teach him anything. … He’s a guy with 100 sacks. He’s been playing ball for a while, so I’m looking to learn from him, take things from his game, some of the knowledge and experience that he has, and see how I can apply them to my game.”
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
